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madmaxine's review
1.0
Ughh…where do I begin with this one? Before I go into babbling about what I thought was wrong with this, I want to let you know that I’m one of those people who think every book has to offer you something (a lesson or a new perspective on life or simply sheer entertainment) in order to be considered a good read. Now that was the problem with this novel for me… it didn’t offer me anything. Unless you want to take into consideration some “lessons” I received while reading it, such as:
1. Grandparents (and adults in general) don’t understand how social media platforms work.
2. It’s totally ok to do whatever you want when you are in 8th grade. (because duuh…you’re an adult)
3. Life it’s all about how many likes or views you have on Instagram/Youtube.
First of all, this book is full of tropes. Now let’s be honest, tropes can be really entertaining when they are written well which unfortunately was not the case here. We have Millie, the main character, whose parents are divorced. Millie has a best friend, Lauren, whose parents, shockingly, don’t get along either. Then we have a new handsome boy in town and the “popular and perfect, but mean” girl. And on top of all these we have the bad guy’s Instagram account which, of course, is followed by everyone. So original, right?
Second of all, what kind of 8th grader can actually leave her mom’s house and go live with her dad just by telling her mother she has no right to control her life? From what I know, until you are 18 years old, your mom can pretty much tell you what to do because….she’s your mom and you are a minor. Nope, in this novel we are showed that parents can’t force their kids to do anything. What’s more, parents should beg their kids to do something (in our case Millie’s mom begs her to come home). Also, after Millie moves to her father she posts a picture on Instagram and gets lots of likes and new followers which determines her to say that going living with her dad was the right decision. Umm, am I the only one who founds this utterly stupid?
Furthermore, there is a lot of telling instead of showing in this book. We are told Millie and her mother are close like sisters, but throughout the entire novel they are constantly arguing. We don’t get to see neither why her parents got a divorce, nor why her mother actually likes Gary, her new boyfriend. There are also A LOT of words written with capital letters and there is no use for that…at all, apart from maybe annoying the reader. And speaking of annoying aspects, in the first few pages there are so many repetitions that I had to start skipping parts (sorry, I guess).
Moreover, let’s have a look over two actual scenes from this book:
Dad comes upstairs, hugs me and says, “Mills, do you want me to go up to the school and sort this out?”
I show him the photo. “Here’s the problem. I posted the photo. I shared it first. She’s just shared it again, credited me like she should have done, but basically said I’m tragic. She’s done nothing wrong. Really. Well, she has but she’s – Dad she is EXTREMELY clever. You can’t beat her.”
Dad stares at me intensely and says, “You’re right, Millie. Keep away from her. She’s clearly a bit of a genius. Focus on your friends.”
Ummm, I’m sorry….WHAT? And there’s more:
“Oh, Millie…” Mum sounds a bit sad now. “I’m missing out on what you do. Come home. I know I can’t make you. Please just remember I AM HERE. ALWAYS. ALWAYS.”
Ok so what kind of parents act that way?
This book is aimed at young adults, but the characters act as if they are in kindergarten. And yes you could say that perhaps this novel should have had children as target but I think that won’t work either owing to how feminism is presented here. Millie and the other girls in the book are feminists, but apart from judging everyone who is against females, they don’t explain what feminism really is, or at least not from the start.
All in all, I sadly do not recommend this book. I do think I would have enjoyed it a little if I were 13 years old, but even then it wouldn’t have been one of my favorites.
_khads_'s review
5.0